Unstoppable Chinese women on Friday swept into the final of the world table tennis championships after beating China's Hong Kong 3-0.
The defeat shattered Hong Kong women's dream of snatching their third consecutive silver in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. Hong Kong was the team runner-up at the last two worlds in Doha and Bremen.
Third-ranked Guo Yue got off to a flying start, with little difficulty in taking a 2-0 lead over Jiang Huajun, singles champion in the 2007 Asian Cup.
The Chinese star appeared to be heading for a comfortable win but made unforced errors against the determined opponent, who is well known for her four victories over world number one Zhang Yining in international competitions.
Guo dropped the third set 11-7 but came back to dominate the fourth, winning the whole match 3-1.
She said later that she should not have relaxed her efforts after taking a lead over seventh-ranked Jiang.
The encounter between fourth-ranked Wang Nan and tenth-ranked Tie Ya Na, singles runner-up in 2006 Doha Asian Games, proved to be a lopsided affair, with the Grand Slam veteran prevailing 11-2, 11-9, 11-4.
Fast-attacking Zhang quickly followed her teammates' lead, brushing aside Lin Ling's attempt to cause a bit of trouble and winning 16-14, 11-3, 11-4.
"It may have appeared that I won easily, but it is adequate preparation for possible difficulty that helped me take the match," Wang said.
Hong Kong women's head coach Li Huifen told reporters that she admired Wang for her perseverance and hard training. "She is a veteran, but keeps working very hard. It's not easy," Li said.
Wang, one of the sport's most decorated players with 20 world titles, is purportedly competing with her teammate Li Xiaoxia for a berth at the Beijing Olympics as 2004 Olympic singles winner Zhang and reigning world champion Guo Yue have qualified automatically.
Li complained late Thursday that the draw pitting her team against the defending champions China at the quarterfinals was unfair.
"We should be the second seeds here," she said. "We should not meet China until both of us make the final."
She declined to comment on whether Jiang would qualify for the Beijing Olympics. But she said "we surely want to field our top players at the Games."
Jiang said earlier this week that she felt great regrets for not being able to represent Hong Kong in Beijing this summer for passport reasons.
The 23-year-old began to play for Hong Kong in 2005 and will not get a Hong Kong passport until 2012 under the current law of the city.
Hong Kong is likely to field the trio of Tie, Lin and 27th-ranked Zhang Rui at the Beijing Games, said analysts.
(Xinhua News Agency February 29, 2008)